


A very special one

by Eowima



Series: Spideychelle Week 2020 [1]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: (kinda?), Alternate Universe - Road Trip, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Spideychelle Week 2020, pregnancy fic, road trip au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24838708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eowima/pseuds/Eowima
Summary: That’s kind of how it all started for them. A road trip with Ned that then became a road trip with just the two of them because Ned had to leave, and then things happened, which they tried – and failed – to ignore once they got back home, and then that was it. Peter Parker and Michelle Jones.Road trips became their thing. And it was awesome. There were great ones, a few crappy ones too, and then there was a very special one, that neither of them would ever forget.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Series: Spideychelle Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796722
Comments: 77
Kudos: 111
Collections: Spideychelle Week 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *Joey Tribbiani's voice* SPIDEYCHELLE WEEK BABY
> 
> I'm a little nervous about this one, hope you like it! :D

**Chapter 1**

That’s kind of how it all started for them.

Back when they were still in their Senior year of High School. They didn’t like each other that much then – or at least that’s what they thought, but pretty much everyone in their entourage knew better, of course. Peter and Ned decided they wanted to check this uni, and that they’d drive there over the break. Michelle decided to tag along for some obscure reason.

It started pretty great, they were mostly getting along. Then on the second day, Ned had this family emergency, and he had to fly back home while Peter and Michelle got stuck together. They couldn’t just _abandon_ the car there, so they had to drive all the way back to New York just the two of them. They fought like two idiots over stupid stuff. Then they obviously got stranded some place in the middle of nowhere – _classic_ right? They fought some more, she stormed out of their crappy motel room, and then he ran after her and they made out in the rain – against the hood of their stupid car, _that_ had been pretty neat. After that – and other _neat_ things for a couple of horny 17 year-olds – they went home, tried to pretend like nothing had happened for a week, failed miserably, and then finally decided to give it a try and got together under the pouring rain _again_. It was all very cliché really.

Somehow, it then became their thing.

Every year, Peter would set aside his friendly neighborhood Spider-Man activities for a few gorgeous days, and they would go on a road trip together. A lot of great things happened throughout the years, during these sometimes very planned, other times completely impromptu adventures on the roads. Once, their car broke down in the middle of Colorado and they saw a bear. Another time, they found a really great motel and stayed there for four days because they were both too tired to really go anywhere else. Eight years after their first road trip, MJ beats Peter to it and proposes in Houston – he was planning to ask her a couple of days later on their way back in New Orleans. The year after that one, they go on their honey moon at the Niagara Falls and then all around Lake Ontario. The year after that, they’re both very busy with the starting of their respective careers, but Peter still surprises MJ in late September with a quick road trip to Quebec to go whale-watching.

The year after that is a very special one.

**x**

“We’re not going on a road trip this year, MJ,” Peter deadpans, pointing his knife in Michelle’s direction with a stern look before going back to the post-patrol PB&J sandwich he’s currently making for himself.

Michelle has to bite down a smirk because of how ridiculous he looks and chooses to frown instead. “Why not?” she retorts, crossing her arms over her chest with an accusing stare that has Peter sigh in a comically desperate way.

“M, you’re 8 months pregnant!” he almost whines, like it pains him to state the very obvious reason _why_ they cannot go on a road trip this year. He nods accusingly to the bump her tank top is barely covering, and it’s her turn to sigh.

She fights the giddy feeling that always overcomes her when someone mentions that teeny tiny life-altering fact. The little alien in her belly chooses this time to manifest itself with a soft kick in her sides, and her heart jumps in her chest. She thought she would hate it, before. It’s such a weird thing, to create life and have it move around in your stomach like this. _Gross_ , she would say. _Terrifying_ , she would think. Turns out she actually loves it. There’s absolutely nothing like it.

“So what? I’m pregnant, not dying.”

“M…”

“Come on, it’s the last one we can do just the two of us,” she practically begs, walking around him to lean on the kitchen counter next to him. “After that we’re gonna have an army of spider babies tagging along. We’re gonna need a bigger car by the way.” Peter just stares at her with a blank expression, before turning his attention back to his sandwich. She holds back a fond sigh at how absurdly cute her husband is and nudges him in the ribs instead. “I did tell you it was quadruplets right? Eight legs and everything.”

“You’re not funny,” Peter retorts, playfully pushing her elbow away with a fake frown that she knows is supposed to hide his amusement. She can always tell when she’s making him laugh, even when he’s pretending like she’s not.

“I’m not trying to be funny, just realistic,” Michelle counters as he puts the peanut butter back in the cupboard above his head. “Besides, I’m not funny, I’m hilarious.”

Peter doesn’t reply anything, shaking his head with the ghost of a smile on his lips as he puts the jam back in the fridge. While he washes the knife in the sink, Michelle considers the idea of stealing a bite of his sandwich, but then decides against it. She’s been having stomach cramps because of sugar lately, so it’s a wise decision, especially since it’s past midnight anyway. She’s pretty sure Peter knows, even if she didn’t specifically mention it, and that it’s why he didn’t offer to make one for her too like he usually does. Stupid caring idiot noticing everything.

She waits for him to lean on the counter next to her and take a bite of his sandwich before she tries again. “Come on Peter,” she says, moving to face him and subtly pressing her bump against his abs. Her bump isn’t that big, the little alien growing inside her apparently being on the lowest side of the growing curve. She hasn’t put on much weight as well, she thinks it’s pretty fun that looking at her back you can’t even tell she’s pregnant. Still, there is definitely something under her shirt, and she knows Peter loves it when she bumps him with her growing belly. Alright, she _might_ be using some low manipulating techniques but well, she really wants to go. She’s not being too reckless either, she’s planned everything, plus she’s still five weeks away from her due date so there’s still time.

“These moments are our last ones with just the two of us,” she tells Peter quietly, “then we start this new adventure and it’s never gonna be the same ever again– and I’m not saying this as a bad thing by the way,” she adds, raising a finger in between them to emphasize her words, “I can’t wait to do all of this with our kids too.”

She hadn’t planned on saying that last part, the words slipping out of her mouth before she can hold them back, and Peter’s pleasantly surprised face makes her cheeks grow hot all of a sudden. “Kids?” he asks in an almost choked voice, and she suddenly feels very self-conscious.

Michelle shrugs, kind of avoiding his gaze, and Spider-Baby nudges her bladder as she does, as if to say it’s two against one or something. She never really saw herself with a kid, let along _kids_ , and yet here she is, and she’s never been more excited about anything because she’s there with Peter of all people. Might sound very cheesy, and yet somehow it’s the truth. Pregnancy hormones probably making her all mushy or something. “I mean, we’ll see if this one doesn’t web itself out of me or something, but… yeah.”

The loving glimmer she witnesses in his brown eyes makes it all worth it. He leans forward, curving his upper body above her baby bump as he obviously aims for her lips. She doesn’t move, anxiously anticipating the sweet, delicious taste of his lips and tongue paired with PB&J. She sadly doesn’t get to taste any of that though, because when his face is barely an inch away from hers he stops and frowns deeply. “You’re trying to manipulate me into saying yes,” he says accusingly, his eyes boring into hers, and she bites down her smile.

“Is it working?” she asks innocently, and Peter shakes his head with a sigh. He doesn’t move away though, setting his half eaten sandwich back on the counter behind him and cupping her bump in his hands. She shivers when he leans his forehead on hers – or maybe it’s because of his hands, she’s not sure. The little alien kicks its dad’s left hand almost instantly, and they both smile fondly at the movement.

“What if something happens to you?” Peter whispers, running his thumbs over the top of her belly. “Or to that little one?” he adds, nodding down, and the concern is deeply obvious in his voice. “I would never–”

And Michelle appreciates the concern, she really does, but then again she’s pregnant, not dying, and she’s also not asking him to go camping in the middle of nowhere either. “Peter come on,” she sighs softly, bumping his nose with hers, “nothing’s gonna happen to either of us. I’m not due for another 39 days, it’s gonna be fine.”

His eyes are roaming her face intently, and she knows he’s looking for any sign of concern from her part. And there might be some, buried deep inside her brain – because who is she kidding, the prospect of going through labor and delivery is pretty terrifying no matter how prepared she thinks she is about it all – but she really does feel good about all this. She trusts herself, trusts her body, and trusts Peter too. They can do this.

They stare at each other for a moment, until Peter’s face subtly softens, and Michelle instantly knows she did it, before he even says the word. “…Alright.”

“ _Yes_!”

“But not too far!” he tempers with a tired grin, raising a finger to catch her attention. His other hand slides along her hip to the small of her back and keeps her in place, flushed against him. “And close to a city with a good hospital, and–”

“I have our itinerary ready right here,” Michelle cuts him, nodding to the table behind her where her laptop is. Peter’s smile drops and his eyes widen.

“Oh my… _M_!” he whines, and she has a hard time not laughing at his antics. “You knew I would cave.”

“Well _duh_ ,” she shrugs, raising her arms to wrap them around his neck as he shakes his head in disbelief. There is a small smile on his lips however, and she knows he’s gonna kiss her even before he starts leaning forward. He presses a gentle kiss on her mouth, and she feels herself melt in it instantly. This, this is her biggest weakness, she thinks. She loves it. She loves him. It really doesn’t feel like a weakness at all, when she thinks about it, since it might be one of her favorite things in the entire world. Oh wow, pregnancy hormones really are something.

“You’re insufferable sometimes,” Peter whispers against her lips, and they both smile at that, their noses brushing in the process.

“Yeah well get used to it because soon there’s gonna be another one just like me,” she retorts with another shrug, and Peter shakes his head with a chuckle before kissing her again, more intently this time. His hands hold her close, steady and comforting on her back, and she kisses him back fervently, because she loves him and because that’s what they do.

Nothing tastes better than peanut butter and jelly on Peter Parker’s lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I've been wanting to write a pregnancy fic for a little while, would you guys be interested in reading more or not? It's not ready yet but as you might guess Peter will end up being right about it being a little risky to go on a road trip when you're in your last month of pregnancy xD Are any of you interested in reading that? It won't get too graphic or anything, but yeah.
> 
> Tell me if you do in the comments, and I'll see you guys tomorrow for Spideychelle Week Day 2 :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It honestly starts off pretty well. They leave one Saturday morning, dressed in comfy clothes, the glove compartment filled with tons of snacks. The banana bread May made for them is safely secured in the trunk with the rest of their things – they’re only gone for a week so they didn’t pack that much. Peter insisted that they take the maternity bag too, just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahhhh so I added another chapter to the count - because WHY NOT - so here's part two, which is kind of a prelude to the big part that you all know is coming haha  
> Hope you enjoy all the fluffiness! :D

**A very special one**

**Part Two**

It honestly starts off pretty well. They leave one Saturday morning, dressed in comfy clothes, the glove compartment filled with tons of snacks. The banana bread May made for them is safely secured in the trunk with the rest of their things – they’re only gone for a week so they didn’t pack that much. Peter insisted that they take the maternity bag too, just in case. From Michelle’s well thought itinerary, they came up with a safe plan involving not driving too much every day, making frequent pauses every hour or so, and just basically taking things slow. She feels pretty good about the whole thing. He’s more reserved because Parker Luck, but then again he loves going on road trips with her, and most of all he trusts her.

He’s also pretty glad their doctor said it was okay – she even said they just had to stop every two hours, but both Michelle and Peter agreed afterwards that every hour was good. They’re not in a hurry anyway.

Their first day is the longest drive they’re gonna make – and it’s not very long, since they’re just going to Scranton. It’s an approximately 2-hour drive, the first hour of which they spend stuffing themselves with snacks and listening to Peter’s terrible playlist they always listen to during their road trips. It’s amazing, and Michelle cannot stop smiling the whole time. Peter’s the same, although she thinks it’s not as telling since he smiles all the time. But it’s very obvious in his earnest brown eyes, that he’s _happy_ , and it makes her heart soar every time she meets them.

They stop after one hour and when she gets out of the car, Michelle starts to regret all the sour gummy worms and other gummy bears she ate. Peter disappears while she stretches, coming back a few minutes later with fresh strawberries. Healthy snacks, he tells her, and she chastises him for how _cliché_ that is. Then they get back in the car and she eats half the pack. It makes Peter laugh, but he doesn’t say anything, keeping his eyes on the road with the least smug smile he can muster. Michelle pretends it’s annoying her, but she knows he knows it actually doesn’t at all.

They make it to Scranton for lunch. Since they’ve stuffed themselves for the last three hours, they’re not that hungry, so they just drop their things in the room Peter’s booked, and then they’re off again. They go to the Everhart Museum, and Peter jokes it’s cool since the museum is right next to a Medical Center, which makes Michelle roll her eyes. The museum is nice, but after spending most of the morning in the car, they both need the fresh air of late September, so they decide on walking around the Nay Aug park. They see the waterfall, then the tree house – which Peter absolutely loves and even vows to build one when they’ll eventually get a house, and that sends weird tickles in her belly for some reason.

Maybe that’s just Spider-baby reminding her of its presence in there, she’s not sure.

They buy waffles and sit down near the playground and have fun reminiscing about what it was like when they were kids. Michelle tells him again about that time she almost broke her arm when she fell from the monkey bars in the park next to her parents’ apartment. Peter jokingly whines about how their kid’s gonna be a daredevil because of her. She nudges him in the ribs, shaking her head with a chuckle, and when he kisses her he tastes like chocolate and whipped cream.

They get back to the hotel, and Michelle’s pretty exhausted by then so she takes advantage of the bathtub while Peter goes out to grab them a pizza. They eat on the bed like they did during that first road trip, then cuddle for the rest of the night in front of a movie. Michelle can feel Peter’s beaming smile against the back of her neck each time the little bug in her belly kicks his hand. It’s nice. They fall asleep in a tangle of limbs that she only has to untangle two hours later when she eventually has to get up because an entire freaking _baby_ is pressed against her bladder. She wakes up two more times, which makes the night a pretty resting one overall. Peter tells her so during breakfast the next morning, and she agrees with him, smiling fondly at how attentive her stupid husband is.

They take their time and leave around 10 because they only have a 1-hour drive in front of them to get to their next stop: Binghamton. They get there, spend half-an-hour talking with the desk lady of the hotel they’re staying at – she’s pretty nice at first, but when she keeps trying to touch Michelle’s belly Peter quickly says they have somewhere to be and they leave hurriedly because screw people like that – then they walk around the city for a little while, trying to find a place to eat fajitas because for some reason that’s what Michelle’s craving right now.

After that they go to the Robertson Museum and Science Center and Peter excitedly texts Ned the entire time. In return Michelle complains to Betty about how on Earth they ended up both marrying huge nerds, and it’s overall a lot of fun. They all agree on the fact that they need to have dinner once Peter and Michelle get back, because life happens and it’s a little bittersweet but they’re not able to see their best friends as much as they want to now. They set the date to ten days from now, Michelle pointing out to Peter it will probably be their last double date before a fifth wheel shaped like a spider-ling tags along.

The beaming smile he gives her at that has her heart stutter in her chest.

She’s too tired to do much more after the museum, so they head back to the hotel and do nothing together. She likes it. She’s kind of counting the days now, very aware that these moments are kind of the last ones they’re gonna have before everything changes. She’s not weary at the idea of change at all, she’s actually pretty impatient, but it’s still something. The end of an era or whatever. They’re still gonna have time just the two of them once the little bug is out – May made sure that they were aware of it, and even Tony and Pepper told them they’d love to help out as much as Peter and her want – but Michelle already knows it’s gonna be different.

And it’s fine. Different is good. A little scary, because she’s not entirely sure what to expect no matter how prepared she thinks she is, but that’s okay, because Peter and her make a good team.

She falls asleep at 11 in the middle of their episode of _Community_ , and only wakes up at 6:30 the next morning. She doesn’t even remember the last time she slept that well – she’s pretty sure it was even before the pregnancy started so it’s definitely been a while. She feels amazing, very well rested, ready for a good day. Peter notices – of course he does – and gives her the biggest smiles during breakfast. They expertly dodge the desk lady from the day before when they leave, and climb in the car. They head north to Ithaca, which is only an hour away.

They get to the farmers market once they get there and just walk around for a little while, before taking the car again to a park on the banks of the Cayuga Lake. They sit down on a bench for the rest of the afternoon, talking about all the things they can’t wait to do once baby Jones-Parker is gonna be older – Peter saw an advertising panel on a Sciencenter for kids on their way to Ithaca, and got pretty excited about all this, which made Michelle laugh fondly.

When it gets a little chilly, they head back to their hotel and just spend another quiet night in. She reads while Peter works on something for Tony, then they watch a show and she falls asleep halfway through the third episode. She’s been having a tough time staying awake these last few months, which is a little annoying but Peter doesn’t mind it apparently – he’d been all sappy about it the first time it happened, and she had threatened to drool on him next time, which had made him laugh, obviously.

She spends another great night, which makes her wonder if maybe their mattress is at fault back at home. Peter points out it might also be the noises of the city and she sighs because that explanation is boring – but probably the right one, she admits it. Over breakfast they talk about what it would be like to move to the suburbs, even if they definitely don’t intend to because they both love the city too much – plus with Peter’s side job as New York City’s very own vigilante, he kind of needs to stay there anyway. She snorts in her tea while Peter dramatically retells his misadventures in sophomore year of high school during one of Liz Allan’s party in said suburbs.

After breakfast they head back to their room to brush their teeth and gather their things. The program for today is a short drive to the Cayuga Lake Creamery that is apparently very well-known for its delicious homemade ice-cream, and then they’ll keep following the lake north to Syracuse. It’s a little windy today, therefor quite chilly, but Michelle’s still excited for ice-cream – their road trips aren’t usually that much focused on food, but oh well.

She gets the first one while she’s brushing her teeth.

It’s a weird sensation. Like her belly is suddenly weighing a lot more than it already does, tensing incredibly hard under her ‘ _Metaphors Be With You_ ’ shirt – a gift from Peter from a couple of years back, _obviously_. She loves this shirt. She doesn’t think much about the other _thing_. That’s a lie, she instantly freaks out, _internally_ , but when it only lasts ten seconds she makes sure Peter’s head is currently under the jet in the shower then she lets out the smallest sigh of relief. This is the first contraction she’s ever gotten in her entire life. It didn’t even hurt. She’s fine.

She thinks about the indications her doc gave them. If the contractions are painful, five minutes apart and last at least one minute each, then it’s time to go to the hospital.

This one lasted ten seconds and didn’t even hurt. She’s fine.

It makes sense that her body would train for the big day.

She doesn’t mention it to Peter.

They leave at around 10:30, stuff their bags in the trunk of the car, ready to leave Ithaca. Peter vows they’ll come back in a few years to visit the Sciencenter for kids and Michelle snorts while slumping down on the passenger seat with a shake of her head and a smirk. She subtly presses the top of her baby bump, because she’s kind of under the impression she’s having another contraction but she’s not entirely sure. Her bump is pretty hard, but once again it doesn’t hurt. She thinks to herself maybe she’s touching the baby’s butt or something, but Peter opens his door just then so she quickly drops her hand on her thigh. No need to alarm him just yet.

They’re not even painful. She’s fine.

She gets another one during the 20-minute drive to the creamery – this one she’s sure because she slides her thumb under her shirt near her right hip and her belly is rock hard. She’s actually very impressed by how hard it becomes. It lasts for sixteen seconds, and once again isn’t painful. Just mildly inconvenient, she thinks, because it makes her bump even more prominent and difficult to maneuver or whatever. Still, no pain. That’s good right?

She doesn’t tell Peter just yet.

They make it to the Creamery, and decide to have an early lunch there. Peter gorges himself with mozzarella sticks and sweet potatoes fries, and Michelle reluctantly exchange him one of her bacon broccoli cheese bites because damn these are too good. She tells Peter he’s lucky she loves him, or she wouldn’t even have considered an exchange to begin with. She’s too focused on the delicious food and the fun, comfortable banter between them to really monitor the level of hardness of her uterus for the next hour or so. If she gets any contractions, then they’re not painful or inconvenient enough for her to notice.

They finally get to the ice-cream part of the meal, Peter unsurprisingly going for a scoop of cookie dough and another one of ‘ _fluffer nutter_ ’ – which is, peanut butter ice-cream with a marshmallow swirl – and he excitedly texts Ned about it again. These two dorks are cute. Michelle picks red raspberry, green tea and ‘ _passionate peanut butter cup_ ’ just because Reese’s. It makes for a particular mix but they both agree that the creamery definitely lives up to its hype.

They promise themselves to come back soon because there are so many other flavors they want to try – like, S’mores ice cream? _Hell_ _yeah_ – and then they leave before they can talk themselves into having another scoop or ten. It’s already 1 pm but they decide to leave the car parked at the creamery and walk down to the Cayuga lake. They cannot reach the edge of the lake though, because there are properties everywhere, so while they walk back to the car Peter looks on the GPS a way to actually drive more closely to the lake than they’ve been doing on their way to the creamery.

She sits back on the passenger seat and feels like a sudden electric shock in her crotch, which effectively sends her heart racing. She clasps her hand on her baby bump, eyes open wide in shock, but the pain only lasts a split second before subsiding. She feels a small nudge against her palm and pokes the little spider alien back with her finger, still very much in shock. She jumps when Peter closes his door, and when he asks her if she’s okay she shrugs, not entirely sure. She tells him about what she felt, and as she does she remembers reading about something like it but can’t quite remember what exactly. Peter remembers, it’s called ‘lightening crotch’ and is only due to the baby’s position in the womb, pressing on her cervix or something.

Michelle mumbles a ‘rude’ while glaring at her bump, and Peter laughs. He still tells her they’ll take things even slower if she wants, and she nods. She doesn’t mention the possible contractions from earlier because she kind of feels stupid about it now. Peter starts the car, waving goodbye to the creamery like the huge dork he is, and when he wipes a fake tear from his cheek Michelle snorts. He gives her one of her favorite smiles, that shit-eating grin that lights his whole face up, and she pretends to sigh annoyingly, bumping his elbow with a smirk. He stops at the intersection before getting back on the road and leans in to kiss her smirk, and she may or may not sigh contentedly against his lips.

She’s fine. She’s with Peter, they make a good team. As long as she’s with him, she knows everything will be fine. Even if she ends up having the spider-ling on the road, talk about vacation experiences. How fun would it be anyway, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you, just fluffy fluffiness for this part. It's gonna get a little less fluffy for next part, but I'm keeping it rated T so yeah. It's super fun to write about pregnancy, I've been through two pregnancies, but in France so I don't know many of the terms you guys have in English, and honestly 'lightening crotch' made me laugh xD we don't have a name for this particular (very uncomfortable) thing in French, but I'm definitely keeping the English name in mind now haha xD  
> Anyway, I'm currently writing part three, I don't know when I'll update but I'm finally done with all the craziness of June - WHAT TIME IS IT? _SUMMER TIME!!_ -, so it shouldn't take long because I finally have more time :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She counts to thirty in her head, then the contraction subsides. She’s trying to gather her thoughts, not entirely sure what to do next, when Peter speaks.  
> “Do you need me to stop?” His voice is even, his eyes strained on the road in front of him, but she can see that his shoulders are tensed, and his hands are gripping the steering wheel maybe a little more tightly than they usually do. He glances at her, and she’s not sure what he sees on her face but it makes him scoff. “Please, I’m not an idiot, it’s like your third contraction since we left the creamery.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! :D This was a long thingy to write, but I had so much fun doing so! It made me quite emotional because I obviously took inspiration from real life, and definitely gave me a huge case of baby fever but oh WELL. May I say, worth.  
> Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy it! :D

**A very special one**

**Part Three**

Turns out, it’s not fun at all.

Thirty minutes after they left the creamery, Michelle’s already on her third contraction. The first two weren’t painful, just mildly inconvenient, but damn that third one kind of is. She’s had worse pain while on her period, but still. She can feel her insides tensing like crazy, and although it doesn’t take her breath away or anything, it’s still not very nice at all. It lasts longer too. She counts to thirty in her head, then the contraction subsides. She’s trying to gather her thoughts, not entirely sure what to do next, when Peter speaks.

“Do you need me to stop?” His voice is even, his eyes strained on the road in front of him, but she can see that his shoulders are tensed, and his hands are gripping the steering wheel maybe a little more tightly than they usually do. He glances at her, and she’s not sure what he sees on her face but it makes him scoff. “ _Please_ , I’m not an idiot, it’s like your third contraction since we left the creamery.”

She must admit it, she’s pretty impressed. “How do you know?” she asks, watching as his fingers shift on the steering wheel.

“You stiffen just a little,” Peter tells her with a shrug, “and your breathing gets more strained too. I got suspicious after the first one, but when you got the second one I knew for sure.”

“Huh. Well I guess that’s what you get when you have a husband moonlighting as a super-hero,” she sighs, and Peter chuckles despite himself, shaking his head.

“Are you okay?” he asks her, meeting her eyes for a second before looking back to the road. She feels a pang of guilt from the flash of worry she caught in his pupils, and she bites her lip, looking down at her hands.

“I think so,” she tells him, absentmindedly running her palms on her baby bump and grinning when her little roommate nudges her in return. “They’re not painful… at least not until now.”

“I take it these are not your first ones then?” Peter asks, and she makes a face. She shakes her head, avoiding his eyes just a little, and pinches her lips when he takes a sharp breath. “M… you should have told me…”

His voice is not accusing or anything, maybe just a little sad, but his words still feel like a punch in the gut – unless that’s another contraction? She checks, but nope, it’s not. It’s just the guilt she’s feeling from keeping this to herself then. She ignores the lump in her throat and vaguely shrugs. “I know,” she whispers, because she knows he’ll have no problem hearing her over the car’s engine, “I’m sorry Pete.” She watches as he nods, loosening his grip on the steering wheel just a little. “I guess I just… I don’t know, I guess I didn’t want to freak you out?”

She can hear him frown before she even glances at him. “I’m not freaking out,” he retorts instantly, and he sounds offended. Michelle eyes his tensed shoulders and his fingers still gripping the steering wheel and can’t help her smirk.

“Kinda looks like you are though,” she tells him, keeping the teasing light because she still feels bad about it all. She knows Peter doesn’t blame her, he’s not like this, but she does. She blames herself. It was stupid and reckless of her. “I’m really sorry,” she says quietly again, pinching her lips, “that was stupid of me, I should have told you. I don’t know, maybe I kinda thought if I kept it to myself it would go away or something.” She’s not lying, even if that was not a conscious thought now that she says it out loud it feels like that might be the reason. She’s not sure if it makes any sense or not.

“It’s fine MJ, I get it.” She hears the soft smile in his voice and their gazes meet for a couple of seconds, and she thinks he definitely is the best person she’s ever met. She’s lucky she married the idiot. The love in his brown puppy eyes is enough to make her heart flutter in her chest. “So when did you get the first one?”

“This morning while you were in the shower.”

“And no pain?”

“Nope,” she shakes her head, and it feels good to finally get it all out of her chest. “I got a couple more on the way to the creamery I think, then I got distracted–”

“Because food,” Peter chimes in cheekily, and Michelle glares at him, making him chuckle.

“Shut up,” she retorts, and it’s not her best come-back, she knows it, but he kind of is right, so yeah. “I was fine when we walked to the waterfront afterwards, but then… I don’t know, it’s weird.”

Peter nods like he understands, and they stay silent for a couple of minutes before he types something on the GPS. Michelle watches as he bites his lip, apparently deep in thought. “There’s a hospital 16 miles from here in Auburn,” he tells her, and she nods slowly, waiting for him to continue. “But if you think you can hold a little longer then Tony actually has a place in Syracuse where it’ll be safer for us.”

Having the spider-ling in a regular hospital never really was an option, not when they have no idea if Peter’s powers are hereditary or not. Tony went out of his way to find a solution as soon as they announce Michelle was pregnant, so the plan is that she’ll have the baby at the compound upstate with a bunch of doctors specialized in enhanced persons and whatnot. Or at least the plan _was_. It’s no real surprise that Tony has a place in Syracuse though. Must have bought it when Peter told him about their little road trip. She should be pissed, but then again, no she’s actually pretty glad. “How far is it?” she asks, biting the side of her thumb absentmindedly.

“31 miles.”

She takes a sharp inspiration. “I mean, that’s what, a 45-minute drive? I should be fine right?” Peter doesn’t say anything to that so she keeps going, her mind running wild. “Childbirth usually lasts super long anyway, especially when it’s your first baby. I mean, they say the cervix dilation goes like, one centimetre per hour or whatever, so that’s, roughly ten hours, since I need to get to 10 centimetres. I’ve had my first contraction what, 4 hours ago? I’m still good right? I mean, they’re not even painful or very regular anyway so–”

“You’re rambling,” Peter chuckles softly, and she glares at him again.

“I picked that up from living with you,” she retorts in a mumble, and he actually laughs at that. Their gazes meet, and Michelle knows from his expression that he would kiss her if he weren’t currently driving. She’s pretty sure he could, with his enhanced reflexes and all, but he doesn’t. She likes that she feels a little disappointed. 10 years of kissing that dork and she still enjoys it very much. Damn she loves that sweet idiot of hers. “I think I can make it to Syracuse,” she decides after a minute, “it’s not that much farther, and if I really am in labor then it’s better to have that little bug in a safe environment, especially if there’s anything freaky about it.”

“You think I’m freaky?” Peter snorts, and she rolls her eyes.

“Dude, you can walk on walls,” she deadpans, and Peter laughs again. She goes to add something but then doesn’t, feeling a weird sensation building up in her belly. She pats her bump and feels it tense under her fingertips, making a face at the sudden, deeply uncomfortable feeling. Yup, they definitely hurt now. She feels Peter’s worried gaze on her but closes her eyes, focusing on breathing deeply through the contraction.

“Is that one?” he asks in a very soft voice and she just nods messily, forcing herself to breathe. It hurts like a son of a bitch, her heart pounding hard in her chest, but she reminds herself of how breathing helps her with the pain, yes, but most importantly how it also helps the baby too. Poor little spider-ling is all compressed in there, and she needs to make sure the blood in the umbilical cord is still properly oxygenated during contractions. The best way to do that? Deep breaths. That’s her job for the time being. “You’re doing great,” Peter tells her quietly, just as the contraction finally subsides.

“Thanks,” she retorts, opening her eyes to meet his soft, caring ones. “I’ve been breathing my whole life, I like to think I’ve mastered the technique.”

Peter snorts, shaking his head in amusement, and she knows the fact that she’s quipping like this reassures him. He holds his right hand out and she grabs it without hesitating, pressing it once in hers before setting it on her baby bump and covering it with her own. She watches as Peter smiles softly when Spider-baby nudges his palm, and her heart swells in her chest. Damn she loves these two so much – and one of them isn’t even _born_ yet, that’s crazy!

“So, Syracuse or Auburn?” Peter asks, nodding to the road in front of them. Michelle catches sight of a sign indicating 12 miles to Auburn to their right. He stops the car at the traffic lights, and turns to her expectantly.

The decision isn’t that hard, but she still hesitates for a few seconds. The wiggling baby in her belly helps her decide. “I think I’m good,” she tells Peter just as the lights turn green, “let’s go to Syracuse.” Peter nods, taking back his hand that was still on her belly, and makes the turn, following the GPS’ instructions. Michelle lets out a small sigh she didn’t realize she was holding. “Syracuse sounds cool anyway,” she rambles a little, reaching for her bag at her feet to grab a bottle of water and take a sip, “makes me think of that movie, you know, _Sinbad_? Our kid’s gonna be a pirate.”

“Ha, yeah,” Peter chuckles, “that movie was cool, I remember watching it with Ned in 6th grade and pretending to be pirates for a whole week afterwards.”

“Nice,” she smirks, and Peter winks at her. He moves his hand back to her belly and she welcomes it with a soft smile, the contact of his palm and fingers cozy and reassuring. She’s fine. As long as she’s with Peter, nothing is gonna happen to her or to their apparently hasty offspring. She’s sure of it.

“I think I would’ve preferred the Fiji though,” Peter says after a little while, referring to the movie, and Michelle grins. “I mean, Syracuse’s nice, but the Fiji, that would have been cool.”

“Yeah, I don’t know, I’m pretty sure there’s–”

Another strong contraction stops her just then, and she clenches her teeth in surprise. She did not feel that one coming. It’s even more painful that the previous one. Peter’s fingers shift on her belly, and she knows he’s surprised by the feeling under his sensitive fingertips. She meets his worried eyes and nods to his unasked question. She watches as he licks his lower lip, moving his gaze back to the road. He goes to move his hand away but she holds it back, securing it on her belly as she quietly inflates her lungs. She tries to focus on the familiar feeling of his hand on her, but it’s pretty difficult. The contraction lasts for almost a minute this time, and it actually helps to count the seconds.

The little alien in her belly moves as soon as the contraction stops, bumping Peter’s hand softly, and he lets out a relieved, breathless chuckle. She meets his eyes and gives him a tired smile before sitting a little straighter in her seat. “As I was saying,” she sighs, ignoring the weariness washing over her entire body, “I’m not too sure about the Fiji, pretty sure there’s tons of mosquitoes there, and I, _hmpf_ , I hate these fuckers.” Her seat is suddenly deeply uncomfortable, or maybe that’s just because she feels like she’s been run over by a car or something. Damn, contractions really are no fun.

“True,” Peter agrees, although _he_ never gets bitten by mosquitoes anyway. He’s part of the reason why she hates them so much, because when they’re together she gets bitten and he doesn’t. That’s unfair. She thinks about telling him all this, but decides against it because she’s too tired right now.

She’s kind of freaking out just a little too, because it’s just her second painful contraction and she already feels like shit. She tries to relax for a few minutes, but it’s difficult not to dwell on the apprehension that it could all start again soon. She didn’t monitor how much time passed between her last two contractions, so yeah, no idea when her next one is gonna be, which kind of sucks a lot.

“Also I’m pretty sure you would never have convinced me to go on a road trip to the Fiji anyway,” Peter says thoughtfully after a few of minutes of silence.

She snorts at that, and Peter glances at her in amusement. “You underestimate me, young p– _OUCH_.”

“Another one already?”

He sounds worried, maybe panicking just a little, but Michelle completely ignores him in favor of grabbing the hell out of the handle above her head. It hurts. She’s never felt a pain that intense and overwhelming before. Her entire belly feels like it’s burning, like it’s about to be split in half, like it’s trying to come out of her or something. Somehow her _ribs_ hurt too, and she’s pretty sure it’s because her uterus swells and becomes so hard it actually reaches her lower ribs and freaking pushes against them and it _hurts_. Like what the hell Nature, how is that even possible?

When it finally stops one minute later, Michelle lets out a small sigh and lays her head on the headrest of her seat, eyes still closed. “This sucks,” she tells Peter quietly, and his fingers move from her belly to lace with hers, pressing them gently.

“I know,” he says, and his voice is tensed and sad, “I’m so sorry M.”

“What are you sorry for,” she mumbles, shaking her head and meeting his brown puppy eyes, “it’s not your fault, dork.”

“It kind of is though, I mean you wouldn’t be here if–”

“Shut up please,” she sighs, closing her eyes again, wondering when the next contraction is gonna be, hoping it’s just gonna stop after this one, and then she can just, have that spider-ling in a magical, non-hurting way. Tony Stark’s on it, couldn’t he just figure out a way to not have it hurt like a son of a bitch? Stupid genius billionaire doesn’t have his priorities straight, _ugh_. She’s rambling. This is too hard. She can’t do this.

Peter’s embarrassed chuckle takes her back to reality, surprising in the best way possible. “Sorry,” he whispers, and when she glances at him she shakes her head in amusement at the stupid face he’s making. She’s okay. She’s with Peter. She can do this. “Do you want me to turn back?” he asks after another minute of silence and of Michelle trying to find a more comfortable position in her seat – and failing. “We can still get to Auburn pretty quickly I think.”

“No, no, I’m fine” she sighs, making a face, itching to stand and walk around for some weird reason. “I just can’t get comfortable in that stupid seat.”

“Maybe you could try to recline the backrest a little?” Peter suggests, and she thinks about it for a second, before shaking her head.

“Nah, I’ve read somewhere it hurts even more when you lie down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it actually makes no sense to have women lie down to give birth,” she tells him, and he nods, probably trying to encourage her to keep talking. She’s pretty sure she’s already told him about all this, or maybe that he’s even read about it too, but she thinks it helps to talk about stuff instead of just dreading the next contraction. “I mean, unless you’ve had an epidural of course, then you can’t feel your legs so half seated makes sense. But otherwise, it’s actually easier to give birth while crouching or on your knees.”

“Any reason why it’s a thing then?” Peter asks, and she _knows_ he knows the reason, and yet he’s still asking, probably because he sees that talking actually helps her, and it melts her heart just a little.

“Some stupid French king wanted to watch his wife and mistresses give birth, and he couldn’t do it properly while they were crouching so he had them deliver babies on a table with feet support and stuff.”

“Louis XIV if I remember correctly,” Peter supplies and she rolls her eyes with an amused grin.

“Yeah, he was an ass.”

“Definitely.”

Somehow with this comes the end of the discussion and the beginning of another contraction, and the pain is so overwhelming it actually becomes hard to breathe. The pain in her ribs – especially the right side, which she knows is the baby’s favored side – comes back with it, and she’s desperate to try and escape it so she curls up on her seat. It does not work at all – actually she’s pretty sure it makes it even worse, so she stands straight and, following her instincts, uses her hand to push down her baby bump and _that_ actually helps. Now she only has to deal with the firing pain of the contraction, which is good news.

Well, that and the devouring panic she can feel roaring in her mind, because what the hell is going on? The contractions last longer, they’re more painful too, and also pretty frequent. Does this mean she’s actually in labor? 32 days before the due date? When the stupid dad is always late? This doesn’t make any. freaking. _sense_.

“You’re doing great M, just keep breathing we’re almost there.”

She can hear him the entire time, whispering quiet, reassuring things to her, and she thinks maybe it could annoy her but it actually doesn’t. It reminds her that she’s not alone, even though it definitely feels like she is right now. Peter’s there with her. He can’t do much, but he’s there. He’s not going anywhere. She can do this. “You’re such a bad liar,” she tells him hoarsely when the contraction finally subsides, “we’re not almost there at all.”

Peter scoffs but doesn’t reply anything. Michelle glances at him, eyes lingering on his worried expression. Their gazes meet and she feels a familiar burning sensation behind her eyes. She’s scared, and she knows he is too, even though he’s definitely trying to hide it. “MJ, do you want me to stop?”

“What, you need to pee?” she retorts, smirking when Peter shakes his head in amusement. “Just hold it in dude come on don’t be like that.” She takes a deep breathe before adding: “And don’t you dare telling _me_ to hold it in.”

“Ha, like I would be that reckless!” Peter laughs, glancing at her with a smirk, and she bites her lip to muffle her chuckle.

“You jump off of buildings for fun,” she deadpans, and he laughs again.

“Seriously though, do you want me to stop?” he insists, holding her eyes for a couple of seconds. “We’re not too far from Auburn still, we can–”

“I’m fine, just keep driving Parker,” Michelle sighs, and maybe she was a little harsher than intended but who can blame her right now? Peter certainly wouldn’t. She meets his unsure eyes and smiles softly. “Seriously, I’m fine Pete. They hurt, but they’re not very regular, so I’m sure we’re good. Look, I haven’t had one in almost seven minutes, that’s pretty good right?”

“Okay,” he nods, and she knows he’s still not completely reassured, but he trusts her. It makes her heart swell – even though she’s actually pretty terrified too, and very not sure of herself right now. But she definitely prefers to keep driving over stopping on the side of the road and having the baby there. Yeah, she’s not doing that. “You’re the boss, boss.”

“Damn right I am.”

They share a smile, that quickly morphs into a grimace when Michelle feels the next contraction coming. She’s more prepared this time, using the same technique than before to avoid the pain in her ribs, but damn it still hurts so much she has a hard time holding back her tears. “Yeah, I’m not having another baby after that,” she rasps between her clenched teeth, “next time _you_ do it.” She vaguely hears Peter’s nervous chuckle at that, and welcomes his hand when it gently slides between her back and the backrest of her seat. He’s trying to massage her like they were taught in those pregnancy classes they went too. It’s sweet, but it’s not doing much, sadly. It would probably be better if they weren’t currently driving. Maybe stopping would actually be better.

Then again, if they stop, what happens? The contractions won’t magically stop if they get out of the car, right? If they stop, that means calling 911 and waiting for them on the side of the road, and probably have the baby there. Yeah, she’s not doing that. Nope, nope.

They pass a sign for a resting area just as the contraction stops, and she lets out a relieved sigh just as Peter speaks: “Do you want me to stop there? There’s a McDonald’s.”

“I’m not supposed to eat during labor,” she says without thinking, and Peter turns to her, doing a poor job of trying to hide his panic.

“You really think this is it then?” he asks carefully.

“I don’t know, I’ve never had a baby before, have I?” she snaps back, and Peter bites his lip, looking back at the road, and she shouldn’t at all she thinks, but she feels bad for it. “Sorry.”

“You’re legally not authorized to apologize today,” he informs her with a pointed look, and she snorts.

“Ha, good to know.”

Peter smiles, and Michelle lets out another tired sigh. “So we’re not stopping there then?” he checks one last time, pointing to the resting area they’re almost at, and she has a hard time not rolling her eyes too much.

“Nope, we’re going to Syracuse,” she confirms, and he nods. “This baby _will be_ the pirate I never was, ya hear me mate?”

“And Australian too, apparently.”

“Shut up,” she whines, slamming her head on the backrest. She’s just so tired. He has no idea how exhausted she feels.

“I’m so sorry M,” he instantly apologizes, and she shakes her head. “I didn’t mean–”

“It’s fine, I’m fine” she lies, as Peter grabs her hand tightly.

“You’re crying.”

She glares at him for a second before snorting in fake disdain. “My eyes are just sweating.”

“Please, can I do something?” he asks softly after a while, and she thinks the hopelessness in his voice breaks her heart just a little. She meets his eyes and smiles softly, lacing her fingers with his.

“Yeah, drive faster.”

He can’t really drive that much faster without pulverizing the speed limit, but he still does. Fifteen minutes pass, with two more contractions from hell where she thinks she might pass out from the pain. From where she stands, that would actually be pretty cool – you can’t feel pain when you’re passed out, right? She’s never fainted before, so she doesn’t know. She feels too worn out to even ask Peter about it. He knows a great deal about fainting from too many punches – or is it actually that he knows a great deal about how to make bad guys pass out from too many punches? She’s not sure anymore, she’s getting sidetracked again because of those stupid contractions that don’t ever seem to stop.

She’s at the end of the third one in twenty minutes – which sucks – and she’s trying to sit straighter in her seat when she hears a loud ‘pop’. Her heart falls in her chest. She’s read about this. She shouldn’t panic as much as she does, because it doesn’t always mean that the birth is imminent, but then again she’s been having contractions like crazy and now her waters just broke? Yeah, this is pretty much it. She cannot believe it. Peter was right about Parker Luck, it really is a thing. She’d never really experienced it herself, but damn that shit is serious. She was kind of hoping that this wasn’t it, that it would eventually stop because it’s still early in the pregnancy, but now…

Now there’s no way back from that.

“Was that…” Peter’s choked voice trails off, and Michelle kind of feels like she’s about to puke. Her underwear and pants are already soaked. She’s petrified but still finds in herself the strength to nod to Peter’s unfinished question. She watches how his face grows very pale, how his lower lip trembles just a little. “You think that’s…”

“Mhm?” she squeaks, before taking a deep breathe, trying to ignore the burning behind her eyes. “Either that or, you know, the classic ‘did I just pee myself?’.” Her poor attempt at humor is met with nothing – she wasn’t expecting anything anyway – and she watches as Peter’s mind unravels behind his brown eyes. She’s pretty sure if she listened more closely she could hear his thunderous thoughts, but she’s too exhausted and terrified for that.

“I’m stopping now, and calling 911.”

Michelle nods, opening her mouth to say something, but then she can’t. A sudden contraction crashes through her and she gasps, eyes overflowing instantly. She vaguely thinks how unfair this is, because barely two minutes passed since the last one. She thought the others were painful, but clearly she was wrong. This one hurts like nothing she’s ever felt before. The pain is raw and powerful, and her hazy brain tries to find solace in logic and comes up with an explanation. Now that her waters broke, nothing is protecting the baby anymore, her uterus is contracting directly on the spider-ling now, there’s no liquid to soften the thing.

She honestly has no idea how she’s supposed to survive any of this.

She barely registers anything, too overwhelmed by the raging pain in her entire body, and when the contraction finally stops it takes her at least thirty more seconds to realize Peter parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the engine. She wipes her tears away, her hands trembling, and meet Peter’s tortured gaze. His right arm twitches, just as if he was about to hug her but then thought better of it, and she doesn’t let him ponder or ask. She reaches for him, tugging his arm towards her, and he meets her halfway in a fierce embrace that make her eyes overflow again. She nuzzles her face in the crook of his neck, not even trying to hold back her sobs as she does.

Peter’s hands are drawing soothing circles on her back, and it’s like her own body is surprised it can feel something that isn’t raw, shooting pain. Michelle takes a deep breathe, relishing in the familiar scent of Peter. “This is hard,” she whispers, and Peter hugs her even harder.

“I know,” he whispers back hoarsely, “I know, but you’re doing so good baby.”

“I’m not doing much,” she laughs wetly, and raises surprised eyebrows when Peter suddenly breaks their embrace, pushing her shoulders away to look at her face. His brown eyes dive into hers, serious and focused.

“You’re doing amazing,” he retorts, and from his tone she knows he’ll hear no argument about this. Then he kisses her softly, and she sighs in his lips, relishing in how soft and warm they feel against hers. They stay silent for a little while, forehead pressed together, and she just wishes she could press pause on everything and stay like this for some time, until she feels ready to do this and have that baby.

That’s sadly not how things work though.

“I’m gonna call 911 and text Tony now,” Peter tells her after a while, and she nods, already missing him as soon as he moves away. “Can you move?”

She doesn’t even think. “Nope.”

“That’s okay,” he smiles softly, “I’ll grab you a towel from the trunk, and maybe some clean clothes too?” She nods and he grins again, hand on the door handle. “I’ll be right back,” he promises quietly, opening the door and standing up.

“Grab the maternity bag too while you’re at it,” she calls after him, and he doesn’t reply anything and instead lets out a very nervous chuckle. She smiles to herself at that, because really what a dork. She thinks she should take off her drenched sweatpants while he’s gone, but she feels so sore right now that she doesn’t even try to. She’ll ask Peter to help her later.

The worst thing about being in labor, she thinks, is the wait in between contractions. While you’re in it, you just have to get through it, it hurts like hell and stuff, but at least you know things are progressing. But between contractions… there’s just dread and a soreness that she’s pretty sure she’s gonna feel for the rest of her life. This sucks.

Peter is only gone for two minutes – he’s pretty efficient. He informs her that help is on its way, then helps her move her seat back to have more room for her legs. He helps her out of her sweatpants, then gets out of the car to open her door, holding her up gently while spreading a towel on her drenched seat. She tells him she’d rather stay in just her underwear because screw this, and then another contraction starts and he holds her tight against him while she muffles her moans in his shoulder. It hurts like hell once again, but being able to hold Peter rather than deal with the thing on her own definitely helps.

When the pain subsides, he wipes the tears from her cheeks, running his fingers softly on her cheeks, massaging her tensed forehead. He stops when tears escape her eyes once again, worried he did something wrong, but she tells him to keep going, that she’s just crying because it feels so soft and nice compared to the hellish contractions she’s been having. So Peter continues his ministrations, moving from her face to her shoulders, then her back, and Michelle actually manages to relax just a little. His phone chimes at some point, but he doesn’t check it just yet. When another contraction happens, he helps her through it, and she feels incredibly grateful. They’re more and more painful, and yet it seems a lot easier than that first one after her waters broke, that she had to deal with on her own while he was driving.

Stopping was a good call after all.

“Tony is sending something,” Peter tells her once the contraction stops, and she makes a face.

“Perfect,” she sighs, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. “A dream come true, I’m gonna deliver this baby with my second favorite OB-GYN, the empty Iron suit.” Peter shakes his head at that, and she knows he’s fighting back a roll of eyes. She smirks, then sticks her tongue at him when he makes a face. He chuckles like a tired idiot, then smiles against her lips when she lunges forward to kiss him.

“Okay, don’t make fun of me,” he tells her, holding a finger up before reaching for something in the backseat and moving back to the driver seat. Michelle snorts when he holds out his Spider-Man mask, and this time he does roll his eyes. “I said don’t make fun of me,” he complains, shaking his head. “I’m gonna put this on to check your vitals okay?”

He doesn’t wait for her to agree and puts the mask on. “You look ridiculous,” she tells him, smiling fondly despite herself, and the wide white eyes narrow at her comically.

“Hi, hey Karen hi what’s up…”

Michelle mouths a ‘I love you’ that she knows makes him smile under the mask, then tunes out his voice for a little while, closing her eyes as she starts to nod off. She wakes up a few minutes later when Peter touches her shoulder, and instantly dreads the impending contraction she’s obviously gonna get. She feels desperate, and so, so tired. Her eyelids are heavy, her eyes burning from the exhaustion. Childbirth definitely is no fun. How do women do this?

“So your vitals are good,” Peter tells her, setting his mask back in his backpack. “Your heart rate is a little high, but I figured that’s normal. And the baby is fine too.”

“Cool,” is all she can muster. She can feel it, feel the next contraction building up in her core, and she kind of wants to scream and cry and kick it away. Instead of that she holds on tightly to Peter’s hand when it crashes through her like a tsunami, thinking to herself that it’s nice to know she cannot hurt him no matter how hard she clasps his hand. He mutters encouragements in her ear the whole time, and she tunes out the meaning of his words to only focus on the familiarity and warmth of his voice.

Desperation is catching onto her though. She’s pretty sure she cannot do this. It’s so hard, it hurts so much, they last for so long too. It’s like her life is being squeezed out of her with every new contraction, how is she supposed to survive any of this? She’s never known real pain before. This, this is real pain, this is the worst she’s ever felt, and for what?

The contraction eventually subsides, and she feels the baby kicking shyly in her belly, like a gentle, sweet reminder. It brings tears to her eyes, and she sobs while Peter hugs her tightly against his chest. This is what she’s going through all this for. For this precious addition to her and Peter’s small family. To go from two to three. To finally meet the tiny spider-ling that’s been living in her belly for the last 8 months. The perfect mix of her and Peter’s DNA, the one they’ve been waiting for over a year and a half, after countless ovulation tests and negative pregnancy tests, the doubt and the uncertainty, the fear that maybe none of this would ever happen for some unknown, unfair reason.

Then it finally came, hiding behind a false negative at first, even with the missing period and the morning sickness, and May convincing her to take another test despite the despair Michelle felt lurking in the back of her mind more and more closely with every negative test she took. And then there it was, two beautiful lines, and then everything rushed forward, the doctors appointments, the first kicks, buying a crib and a car seat and clothes and no, they don’t want to know the gender, no, they don’t know if Peter’s powers are hereditary or not, yes they’re excited, yes Ned you’re gonna be the godfather, _duh_. An incredible adventure Michelle wasn’t sure she wanted when she was younger, that she longed for after Peter and her got married, and that is now coming to an end – and is also sending them off in another life-altering one.

“Oh boy, I do hope she really is a baby and not a spider,” she mutters in Peter’s sweatshirt, running her hands soothingly on her aching belly. She feels the deep rumble of his laugh and smiles to herself. She’s safe, their baby is safe. She can do this.

“You said she.”

For a second she doesn’t understand what he means, then she moves back to meet his loving brown eyes. “Huh,” she says in surprise, not really knowing where that came from, “yeah I did.”

“You think it’s a girl?”

“I have no idea,” she admits, and Peter smiles gently at her before kissing her forehead once again. He offers to give her some water, and by the time she carries the bottle to her lips another contraction arrives. She winces and dives right back into Peter’s chest, muffling her cries in it. This one comes with a twist though. She’s not entirely sure she’s feeling right. She thinks she needs to wait and see if she’s really feeling what she’s feeling. She doesn’t have to wait for long, the contraction lasts for a minute, then a three-minute break and another one follows. And there’s no doubt this time. She bites her lip, heart pounding forcefully in her chest, focusing on her breathing as much as she can despite the pain.

How are they supposed to do this alone? Where are the freaking medics or Iron suits or whatever?

“Pete,” she rasps, once the contraction stops, “don’t panic but um, I kinda, want to, um, push.” She watches as his eyes widen instantly and he opens his mouth, but raises her finger to cut him. “I _said_ , don’t panic.”

She would’ve laughed at his face in normal times, but right now she can only muster a faint smile. “I’m not panicking,” he lies, and she shakes her head in amusement. “Okay, okay, you need to push, okay, how, how, how do you um, how do you know?”

“I really don’t,” she tells him with half a shrug, “but it’s the second contraction where I have this, this feeling? I don’t know dude but this, oh _no_ –” she can feel it, another one coming, so soon after the last one, and she knows it, deep, deep inside her, she knows it’s time “Pete, help me,” she squeaks, holding her hand out to grab his forearm as she tries to move.

Part of her is absolutely amazed by how her body seemingly knows exactly what to do – the other part is in incredible pain and cannot function properly. Peter asks her what she wants him to do, but she cannot reply. She’s not sure if she really is screaming or not, then again her throat hurts so maybe she is. She weakly moves her knees up, trying to sit up, and Peter must have realized what she wanted to do because the next thing she knows he’s helping her up, her back pressing on the backrest of her seat.

It happens so fast afterwards that Michelle isn’t sure she realizes what’s happening. She pushes once for ten long seconds, like she was taught to, and then she’s catching a screaming, very much _alive_ baby with her trembling hands, and she can feel Peter’s hands around the baby too, helping her to settle it on her heaving chest. She can hear his voice, although she has no idea what he’s saying. She can feel his tears falling on her, his fingers on her cheeks, his trembling lips on her forehead. She can feel her own tears running down her cheeks, the subsiding pain in her now desperately empty belly. But most of all she can feel the weight of her baby on her chest, the warmth of the skin under her palms, the little hand moving to grab her finger tightly.

She’s not crying anymore – it really is a _she_ by the way. Michelle has no idea how that slip of tongue happened earlier. She’s looking around, her brown eyes wide opened, her little face scrunched up in what definitely looks like curiosity. She’s perfect. That’s what Peter tells her, or at least these are the first words that Michelle finally registers. And she agrees with him, definitely. He’s also telling her that she’s amazing, that she did it, that she’s making him the happiest man in the world, and all she can muster for an answer to that is a small but heartfelt smile.

She knows she’s not done yet – she still needs to push the placenta out and stuff, the contractions aren’t over yet even though they’re definitely not as painful as they were a few minutes ago, and then the medics will get there, and they’ll have to move, probably take her to the nearest hospital for a check up and stuff. But right here, right now, her eyes fixed in her baby daughter’s eyes, she doesn’t care about any of this.

She looks up to meet Peter’s eyes, and her heart soars in her chest so much so that she’s pretty sure it’s going to explode from all the love she’s feeling right now – as cheesy as it may sound, she doesn’t care in the slightest. She watches as Peter reaches for something in the back seat, then covers their daughter with a soft blanket to keep her warm. Michelle just then realizes that she was shivering, but her daughter’s little face instantly settles in a peaceful expression thanks to Peter’s blanket. She remembers reading how newborns have a hard time regulating their temperature for a while. She feels a pang of absolute love in her chest at the thought that Peter is already a good dad. She always knew that it would be the case. Witnessing it is another thing entirely.

Her eyes are overflowing again, and she bites her lip to hold back a sob. Peter notices instantly and he wipes her tears away with gentle fingers, his eyes roaming her face with worry. “Are you alright?” he asks very quietly, and she nods messily, sniffling. “You’re crying,” he says in a careful voice, “are you in pain?”

This time Michelle shakes her head, taking a deep breathe to speak the words. Her throat is sore, probably because she screamed – she’s kind of amazed by the fact that she didn’t even register the noise she made – so her voice is a little raspy. “No, I’m not I just… I love you so much.”

Peter lets out a fond ‘ _aww_ ’ and she gives him a side-eye that makes him laugh. “I love you so much, too,” he tells her with a wink, and she shakes her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. She’s not surprised when he kisses said smile, and she kisses him back, trying to convey with her lips everything she’s feeling at the moment. Words cannot describe it, but somehow when their lips part and Peter lightly rests his head on her shoulder, his eyes filled with wonder at the sight of their daughter, Michelle knows he feels it too.

She looks down at the little baby bundled up in her arms, and smiles softly at the sight of her little eyelids drooping. She’s so peaceful, so perfect. Michelle cannot believe any of this. They did this. Peter and her made this little baby. She grew it in her belly, and now she’s here, a whole new little person. Michelle curves her hand around her little body, feeling her heartbeat under her fingers, and it almost hurts – how much she already loves her.

Peter softly traces the sweet curve of her cheek, and the baby’s eyes close for good. His next words are whispered like a secret, like he’s offering them to her so she can do what she wants with them, and Michelle loves him even more for it. “Hi there, little Annie May.”

And right here, just the three of them in their small car on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, Michelle thinks everything is pretty much perfect.

She also thinks that under no circumstances neither of them will ever forget about this particular road trip.

That was definitely a very special one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh damn I feel so clever right now, ha! (I'm sorry, it's always tough for me to find a way to end things xD) A lot of this are things that I remember from when I was pregnant / in labor (like the pop! from when the waters break, that's actually a real thing!) so yeah, I really tried to make things as plausible as possible. To be fair to MJ though, this was a fairly quick childbirth experience, it's pretty rare to have a first baby that fast (ie it took me 17 hours for my son, that was not fun xD)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, thank you guys so much for all your comments and kudos ♥
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr @eowima! :D


End file.
